This Tarnished Brass Key To My Heart
by NobleLionheart
Summary: After the Ponds are gone, the Doctor can't handle the hurt in his heart, so he once again locks his memories inside the fob watch. When young Jane comes across the TARDIS slowly dying in the woods she grew up playing in, she is thrust into a whole new adventure. What will this adventure bring, though? Can the Doctor save this companion? Doctor/OC AU!PostPonds


**Chapter 1**

As a child, I played in the woods that lay just beyond our property. Mum and Da sometimes got onto me for staying out after dark. It was a time of faeries and elves, princes and princesses; it was a time of magic. That bank of trees held so much for me.

I had to leave my world behind there eventually. I was forced to grow up, to go to school. One evening, though, I decided to indulge my imagination. I donned my coat and walked down the pasture, slipping over the low fence into the dim of the woods. It wasn't dark yet, but the air was chill and bit at my cheeks.

It had been some time and leaves had mostly obscured the path I used to walk to my secret place. The breeze shifted what leaves remained on the trees, brown and crinkled, which whispered softly to me. As I shuffled my feet along the path, something sparkled on the ground just barely covered by leaves.

I bent down to pick it up, lifting the small object to my eye level. "A key? Now, what are you doing here?" It was simple, brass and tarnished with age. I held it tightly, compelled forward by the wind blowing my back.

Squeezing the key tightly in my fist, I continued on. The path wound further into the depths of the wood. The trees were closer together as if guarding some secret. They got so thick that I almost couldn't pass, but somehow I was so determined to get through. I didn't know what pulled my heart so strongly, but it wouldn't take long to find it.

There was a sudden gap larger than any of the others and I hurried through it almost as if I believed if I did not, it would close and whatever called me would be gone forever.

And there it stood. The secret, the thing I had searched for without knowing what I searched for. My fist closed tighter around the key, the metal edge biting into my palm. Light dappled the ground, brown leaves surrounded me like an ocean of death. There, in the middle of the woods that inspired my childhood, stood a blue police box.

I approached, reaching a hand out and touching the old wood. The paint was faded, the light gone from the sign. It looked sad. There were leaves decaying on top of the blue box and a few vine plants had grown up, sucking the life out of it.

My hands brushed away the ivy and rested on the wood. I leaned my head against the door, my eyes closed to hold back tears.

"What are you doing here? You're dying..." I whispered.

My eyes flew open in an instant. A heartbeat, I could hear a heart beat. Not like my own, but it was the sound of life. It sounded distant and just as sad as the box looked.

"I see... So, this must belong to you." I opened my fist to see the key, but it was no longer tarnished. It looked brand new. There were no marks on my hand, though. It was as if the key had magically been renewed.

"Pull to open. Alright, I'll be gentle, I promise." I slid the key into the lock, turning it as softly as I could, though it still creaked with rust. The last click sounded and a smile spread ever so slowly across my face. The box was renewed, just like the key. The blue was brighter, the paint no longer chipping, the heart beat stronger and whispers filled my ears.

I stepped inside, pulling the door open and I looked around. It was...

"Beautiful..." I gasped as my breath was stolen away by the interior. It was no normal police box, nothing human could have created such magnificence. I dropped to my knees as the door shut behind me. "Why are are you here? This world is killing you."

There was a whirling and a whoosh and suddenly I was moving inside the box. I didn't question it, I only stood and rushed to the center console.

"Where are we going? Please! You must understand me. I don't know what is happening, but if you just explained..."

A screen to my left flickered on with the picture of a man who had the deepest, saddest eyes I had ever seen. He looked so old, yet his face was young. Something about him mesmerized me.

The box came to a halt. Another smaller, wooden jewelry box rose up from the console. I looked down at it, examining the circular symbols on the box; tracing their shape with my finger. It took me a moment, but I opened it and, inside, it was velvet lined containing only a silver pocket watch with similar symbols on the front. The whispers were louder as I reached for it. The pocketwatch felt farm, it ebbed with the same heartbeat I had felt in the wood of the blue police box.

"It wants me to open it, take it to him and open it. Is he the one you were coming to? The one you showed me?" There was a cheerful whir from the console that I took to mean "yes". "Okay...but how am I supposed to find him?" There was another, deeper, sadder whir and I looked down at the watch. I had an obligation to find him. This living vessel, this police box, needed him. I didn't understand why or how or anything, but if I could understand the unspoken words of something most people considered inanimate, didn't I ave a duty to help it?

I turned on my heel and put the watch into my coat pocket before striding out the door. It wasn't the forest anymore. It wasn't even 2013, from what I could tell. It was a small village without any cars. There were only carriages with horses. I saw some people on the street who looked like they were from the early 1900s. There was a boy about a block away shouting something about a headline in the newspaper.

I rushed toward him and picked up a paper. The date printed clearly October 24th, 1904. Not possible... That would mean I had just travelled in time and space. Or, could it really be? Maybe the man that I was looking for could help me.

I reached into my pocket for the pocket watch, but my hand brushed something paper first. I didn't recall anything else being in my pocket, so I pulled the unknown object out. A picture of the man. I only smiled, knowing it must have been that strange blue box.

"Excuse me, miss?" the paperboy asked. "Are you okay? You look a bit lost."

"I'm looking for someone." I showed him the picture. "Do you know him?"

"Whoa! That picture is amazing! Did you tint the plate?" he was more interested in the fact it was colour. I hadn't thought about it being almost 50 years before there would be colour photography.

"Uh...yeah. Yeah I did. It's a pretty easy technique. Listen, I'm in a hurry. Can you tell me if you know him?" I fumbled for what to say.

"Oh, sure, miss! That's Mister Smith. He lives in the big house at the end of the road." He pointed down a dirt road. "It's a pretty long way down, though. You should go by cart."

"Thanks for the help." I didn't have any money on me and it was 1904, so any money I had wouldn't be of use to the kid. So, I just gave him the picture. "You can keep it. Maybe you'll figure out how to do it yourself." I walked away, but he shouted after me.

"Hey, miss! What's your name?"

"It's Jane." I looked back over my shoulder and smiled. He was blushing.

"I-I'm Sebastian." he said sheepishly.

"Well, Sebastian, I think you're going to do some pretty amazing things." I waved and continued to walk down the dirt road.

It wasn't any warmer in 1904, in fact, I'm pretty sure it was colder. I wrapped my scarf around me tighter and buttoned my coat all the way up.

About a half hour later, a cart and horse came toward me, slowing as they neared me.

"Excuse me, but are you Jane?" the older man in the cart asked.

"Sure, but how do you know my name?"

"Sebastian asked me to come and take you up to the big house. It's getting mighty cold out and he was afeared you might freeze. You must be something pretty special for him to warm up so quick. He isn't one much for words except when he's shouting the paper headlines." The gentleman said and offered me a hand up.

"You'll have to give him my deepest thanks." I smiled warmly. The gentleman draped a plaid blanket over my legs after seeing me shivering with chill.

"I will." He nodded and smiled before shaking the reins to get the horse going again. "My name is Jones. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Jane."

He didn't ask my business at the big house and we didn't talk much after his introduction. I didn't mind. The wind was talkative enough as it rustled the trees.

I thanked Jones for the ride when I stepped off and he headed back down the road. There I stood at the front door. It was blue just like the police box with a brass knocker that reminded me of the key. I pulled it up and knocked four times.

A maid opened the door and looked me up and down disapprovingly.

"What is your business here, girl?" she barked harshly. I was just opening my mouth to respond when there he was, standing behind her.

"Greta...for goodness sake! There's no need to be so harsh. Off with you, I'll handle this." he smiled, but it was empty of warmth. He was missing something. His hand rested on the door while Greta ducked away, bowed and scurried off.

"You're him..." I whispered.

"Him? Him, who, my dear?" he looked puzzled. The whispered coming from the watch were squalling louder than ever.

"Mister Smith. You're Mister Smith."

"Of course I am! Now, what could possibly bring you all the way up here on such a chilled day? Come inside and have a cup of tea. We'll talk by the fire. You're shivering terribly." His eyes were so soft and kind, but they lacked lustre. Could this really be the man I had been so captivated by with simply a picture?

I allowed him to lead me inside to a parlor. He took my coat and scarf before sitting me down in an armchair next to the fire. He tugged an ornate rope near the door which called Greta in. He quietly asked for tea for two before sitting across from me in a matching armchair that was just slightly larger than mine.

"Now, tell me, what brings you up here?" he asked as he sank into the comfort of the chair.

"I think I may have found something of yours." I explained. I got up and went to my coat. I fished around in the pocket and pulled out the silver fob watch. "I believe this is yours." I held it out to him and as soon as he touched it, the whispers screamed. He took it in his hand and turned it over several times. There was almost a hunger in his eyes and the lustre returned to them.

He turned it right side up and stared at it a moment. I couldn't tell what he was thinking. He finally reached up and pressed the button to open it. There was a golden light and a soft, blue, ghostly smoke that enveloped him for a long moment before a grin spread across his face. He shut the watch and looked up at me.

"Hello!" his voice was different. Cheer filled it, something timeless. "You've found me. After all this time..."

I didn't understand his sudden change at first, but it soon clicked. He had somehow locked his memory in that watch. "You're not human, are you?" I asked curiously.

"No, not at all. I'm a Time Lord and I'm bored! Let's go have an adventure." He grabbed my hand, stuffed the pocket watch in his pants pocket and dragged me out of the house. I barely managed to grab my coat and scarf, but it made little difference. My coat just flapped behind me uselessly as we ran all the way from the big house to the box.

When we came to where the box sat on the street, he ran his hands over it. It was like the box was a long lost lover. He tried to open the door, but found it to be locked.

"Are you angry with me? Why have you locked me out?" he sounded saddened all of a sudden.

I had slipped into my coat and draped the scarf over my neck. My hands were stuffed into my pockets before I felt the key, the same one to the box. I pulled it out and showed it to Mister Smith.

"Mister Smith-" He cut me off, though.

"That's not actually my name. I'm The Doctor and this is the TARDIS. And you, you are brilliant!" he exclaimed at the sight of the key.

"Me? How do you know that?"

"I only know who. The rest doesn't matter."

I stepped forward to unlock the door to the TARDIS and was greeted with the warmth inside. We both stepped in and he flew up the stairs to the console. I shut the door and put the key back in my pocket.

"Where to?" was all he said as he looked at me, his smile so bright and his hands rapidly working the controls.

In that instant, I knew that things were about to get a whole lot more interesting.


End file.
